Sun Tzu's Quotes

#1. Malone kept listening, a saying from Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR spinning through his mind. When your enemy is in the process of destroying himself, stay out of the way.

Steve Berry

#2. When Lionel Giles began his translation of Sun Tzu's ART OF WAR, the work was virtually unknown in Europe. Its introduction to Europe began in 1782 when a French Jesuit Father living in China, Joseph Amiot, acquired a copy of it, and translated

Sun Tzu

#3. In the practical art of war, the best thing of all is to take the enemy's country whole and intact; to shatter and destroy it is not so good. So, too, it is better to recapture an army entire than to destroy it, to capture a regiment, a detachment or a company entire than to destroy them.

Sun Tzu

#4. Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace; divinely mysterious, he is inaudible. Thus he is master of his enemy's fate.

Sun Tzu

#5. Conform to the enemy's tactics until a favorable opportunity offers; then come forth and engage in a battle that shall prove decisive.

Sun Tzu

#6. The skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting.

Sun Tzu

#7. If I am able to determine the enemy's dispositions while at the same time I conceal my own, then I can concentrate and he must divide.

Sun Tzu

#8. The ultimate in disposing one's troops is to be without ascertainable shape. Then the most penetrating spies cannot pry in nor can the wise lay plans against you.

Sun Tzu

#9. To begin by bluster, but afterwards to take fright at the enemy's numbers, shows a supreme lack of intelligence.

Sun Tzu

#10. About Sun Tzu himself this is all that Ssu-ma Ch'ien has to tell us in this chapter. But he proceeds to give a biography of his descendant, Sun Pin, born about a hundred years after his famous ancestor's death, and also the outstanding military genius of his time.

Sun Tzu

#11. If an enemy has alliances, the problem is grave and the enemy's position strong; if he has no alliances, the problem is minor and the enemy's position weak.

Sun Tzu

#12. Balk the enemy's power; force him to reveal himself.

Sun Tzu

#13. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him.

Sun Tzu

#14. [The chief lesson of this chapter, in Tu Mu's opinion, is the paramount importance in war of rapid evolutions and sudden rushes. "Great results," he adds, "can thus be achieved with small forces."]

Sun Tzu

#15. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men.

Sun Tzu

#16. O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible, and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands.

Sun Tzu

#17. The leader of armies is the arbiter of the people's fate, the man on whom it depends whether the nation shall be in peace or in peril.

Sun Tzu

#18. Rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him

Sun Tzu

#19. Do not engage an enemy more powerful than you. And if it is unavoidable and you do have to engage, then make sure you engage it on your terms, not on your enemy's terms.

Sun Tzu

#20. To prevent the enemy from fathoming one's intentions is of the first importance.

Sun Tzu

#21. To plan secretly, to move surreptitiously, to foil the enemy's intentions and balk his schemes, so that at last the day may be won without shedding a drop of blood.

Sun Tzu

#22. Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.

Sun Tzu

#23. [Once war is declared, he will not waste precious time in waiting for reinforcements, nor will he return his army back for fresh supplies, but crosses the enemy's frontier without delay.

Sun Tzu

#24. If you follow the enemy's shifts and changes, you can always find a way to win.

Sun Tzu

#25. Invincibility depends on one's self; the enemy's vulnerability on him.

Sun Tzu

#26. Leaders can change the tenor of the workplace and create harmony in motion toward a favorable result. So every time you say to your team, "Let's rock and roll," make sure you have already set up the stage to where they can actually perform like rock stars.

Thomas Huynh

#27. [ ... ]you don't have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isn't about killing or even hurting the other guy, it's about scaring him enough to call it a day.

Max Brooks

#28. It is best to keep one's own state intact; to crush the enemy's state is only second best.

Sun Tzu

#29. Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence.

Sun Tzu

#30. Hostile armies may face each other for years, striving for the victory which is decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity.

Sun Tzu

#31. Spies are a most important element in water, because on them depends an army's ability to move.

Sun Tzu

#32. The general who does not advance to seek glory, or does not withdraw to avoid punishment, but cares for only the people's security and promotes the people's interests, is the nation's treasure.

Sun Tzu

#33. Unless you enter the tiger's lair, you cannot get hold of the tiger's cub's.

Sun Tzu

#34. Asked if an army can be made to imitate the SHUAI-JAN, I should answer, Yes. For the men of Wu and the men of Yueh are enemies; yet if they are crossing a river in the same boat and are caught by a storm, they will come to each other's assistance just as the left hand helps the right.

Sun Tzu

#35. It is a doctrine of war not to assume the enemy will not come, but rather to rely on one's readiness to meet him; not to presume that he will not attack, but rather to make one's self invincible.

Sun Tzu

#36. The art of war teaches us to rely not on the likelihood of the enemy's not coming, but on our own readiness to receive him; not on the chance of his not attacking, but rather on the fact that we have made our position unassailable.

Sun Tzu

#37. On open ground, do not try to block the enemy's way. On the ground of intersecting highways, join hands with your allies.

Sun Tzu

#38. Thus those skilled in war subdue the enemy's army without battle ... They conquer by strategy.

Sun Tzu

#39. The wise leader's plans, considerations of advantage and of disadvantage will be blended together.

Sun Tzu

#40. He who wishes to fight must first count the cost. When you engage in actual fighting, if victory is long in coming, then men's weapons will grow dull and their ardor will be dampened. If you lay siege to a town, you will exhaust your strength.

Sun Tzu

#41. These are the six ways of courting defeat - neglect to estimate the enemy's strength; want of authority; defective training; unjustifiable anger; nonobservance of discipline; failure to use picked men ...

Sun Tzu

#42. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy's one,
to surround him; if five to one, to attack him; if twice as numerous,
to divide our army into two.

Sun Tzu

#43. Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.

Sun Tzu

#44. First learn to become invincible, then wait for your enemy's moment of vulnerability.

Sun Tzu

#45. The PEOPLE being regarded as the essential part of the State, and FOOD as the people's heaven, is it not right that those in authority should value and be careful of both?]

Sun Tzu

#46. If there is disturbance in the camp, the general's authority is weak.

Sun Tzu

#47. Attack the enemy's strategy.

Sun Tzu

#48. To capture the enemy's entire army is better than to destroy it; to take intact a regiment, a company, or a squad is better than to destroy them. For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the supreme of excellence. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the supreme excellence.

Sun Tzu

#49. Every battle is won before it's ever fought.

Sun Tzu

#50. 15. Hence a wise general makes a point of foraging on the enemy. One cartload of the enemy's provisions is equivalent to twenty of one's own, and likewise a single picul of his provender is equivalent to twenty from one's own store.

Sun Tzu

#51. Thus the highest form of generalship is to balk the enemy's plans, the next best is to prevent the junction of the enemy's forces, the next in order is to attack the enemy's army in the field, and the worst policy of all is to besiege walled cities.

Sun Tzu

#52. Supreme importance in war is to attack the enemy's strategy.

Sun Tzu

#53. Rapidity is the essence of war.

Sun Tzu

#54. Therefore the skillful leader subdues the enemy's troops without any fighting; he captures their cities without laying siege to them; he overthrows their kingdom without lengthy operations in the field.

Sun Tzu

#55. The successful person has unusual skill at dealing with conflict and ensuring the best outcome for all.

Sun Tzu

#56. There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.

Sun Tzu

#57. It is the rule in war, if ten times the enemy's strength, surround them; if five times, attack them; if double, be able to divide them; if equal, engage them; if fewer, be able to evade them; if weaker, be able to avoid them.

Sun Tzu

#58. Now the reason the enlightened prince and the wise general conquer the enemy whenever they move and their achievements surpass those of ordinary men is foreknowledge.

Sun Tzu

#59. Therefore the victories of good warriors are not noted for cleverness or bravery. Therefore their victories in battle are not flukes. Their victories are not flukes because they position themselves where they will surely win, prevailing over those wh.

Sun Tzu

#60. Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted.

Sun Tzu

#61. Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win

Sun Tzu

#62. First lay plans which will ensure victory, and then lead your army to battle; if you will not begin with stratagem but rely on brute strength alone, victory will no longer be assured

Sun Tzu

#63. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.

Sun Tzu

#64. You must be swift as the wind, dense as the forest, rapacious as fire, steadfast like a mountain, mysterious as night and mighty as thunder.

Sun Tzu

#65. When the higher officers are angry and insubordinate, and on meeting the enemy give battle on their own account from a feeling of resentment, before the commander-in-chief can tell whether or not he is in a position to fight, the result is ruin.

Sun Tzu

#66. Bring war material with you from home, but forage on the enemy ... use the conquered foe to augment one's own strength.

Sun Tzu

#67. If you are far from the enemy, make him believe you are near.

Sun Tzu

#68. Thus the skilful general conducts his army just as though he were leading a single man, willy-nilly, by the hand.

Sun Tzu

#69. When the soldiers stand leaning on their spears, they are faint from want of food.

Sun Tzu

#70. Opportunities multiply as they are seized.

Sun Tzu

#71. If fighting is sure to result in victory, than you must fight, even though the ruler forbid it; if fighting will not result in victory, then you must not fight even at the ruler's bidding.

Sun Tzu

#72. With regard to ground of this nature, be before the enemy in occupying the raised and sunny spots, and carefully guard your line of supplies. Then you will be able to fight with advantage.

Sun Tzu

#73. He who is not sage and wise, humane and just, cannot use secret agent.s. And he who is not delicate and subtle cannot get the truth out of them.

Sun Tzu

#74. There are not more than five primary colors (blue, yellow, red, white, and black), yet in combination they produce more hues than can ever been seen.

Sun Tzu

#75. The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.

Sun Tzu

#76. Hence the saying: The enlightened ruler lays his plans well ahead; the good general cultivates his resources.

Sun Tzu

#77. When two sides who consider each other enemies converge in armed struggle, for the moment they are no longer enemies. They are fellow human beings who face the same two choices that their ancestors did for centuries before them: to destroy each other or to prosper together.

Thomas Huynh

#78. The natural formation of the country is the soldier's best ally

Sun Tzu

#79. Therefore the master of war causes the enemy's forces to yield, but without fighting ; he captures his fortress, but without besieging it ; and without lengthy fighting takes the enemy's kingdom. Without tarnishing his weapons he gains the complete advantage. This is the assault by stratagem.

Sun Tzu

#80. The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

Sun Tzu

#81. When a general, unable to estimate the enemy's strength, allows an inferior force to engage a larger one, or hurls a weak detachment against a powerful one, and neglects to place picked soldiers in the front rank, the result must be rout.

Sun Tzu

#82. One need not destroy one's enemy. One need only destroy his willingness to engage.

Sun Tzu

#83. One hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the most skillful, subduing the other's military without battle is the most skillful.

Sun Tzu

#84. The higher the sun ariseth, the less shadow doth he cast; even so the greater is the goodness, the less doth it covet praise; yet cannot avoid its rewards in honours.

Lao-Tzu

#85. he not honestly believed the contrary. And it is precisely on such a point that the judgment of an educated Chinaman will carry most weight. Other internal evidence is not far to seek. Thus in XIII. ss. 1, there is an unmistakable allusion to the ancient system

Sun Tzu

#86. The height of strategy, is to attack your opponent's strategy.

Sun Tzu

#87. Attack where he is unprepared; sally forth when he does not expect you.

Sun Tzu

#88. Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.

Sun Tzu

#89. Now a soldier's spirit is keenest in the morning; by noonday it has begun to flag; and in the evening, his mind is only on returning to camp.

Sun Tzu

#90. Sun Tzu does not need my praise. His work has lived for over two thousand years, and will surely live for another two thousand without any help from me.

Martin Van Creveld

#91. The value of time, that is of being a little ahead of your opponent, often provides greater advantage than superior numbers or greater resources.

Sun Tzu

#92. In war, numbers alone confer no advantage. Do not advance relying on sheer military power.

Sun Tzu

#93. Know thy enemy and know thy self and you will win a hundred battles.

Sun Tzu

#94. Winning isn't enough. The acme of all skill is to defeat your enemy before taking the field.

Sun Tzu

#95. And therefore those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle and are not brought there by him.

Sun Tzu

#96. This does not mean that the enemy is to be allowed to escape. The object is to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair. After that, you may crush him.

Sun Tzu

#97. Again, if the campaign is protracted, the resources of the State will not be equal to the strain.

Sun Tzu

#98. Unhappy is the fate of one who tries to win his battles and succeed in his attacks without cultivating the spirit of enterprise; for the result is waste of time and general stagnation.

Sun Tzu

#99. Wheels of justice grind slow but grind fine

Sun Tzu

#100. If, on the other hand, in the midst of difficulties we are always ready to seize an advantage, we may extricate ourselves from misfortune.

Sun Tzu